PROPHECY
Questions:
What is prophecy?
What does prophecy tell us about the way God works with man?
In this session we take a look at prophecy, which reveals that God's heart is still involved with His people and that He is ultimately in control of history. We find our first prophecy back in the opening chapters of Genesis "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15
God Knows All Things.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. Psalm 8:3-5
Think of the stars in the skies above, and the wonder of the heavens stretched out in all their glory. Only around 4,000 stars are visible to the human eye without a telescope, yet we now know that there are 10 million, billion, billion, and God knows the nature and composition of every one of them.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26
God knows each one of us, and even the hairs of our head are numbered (Matt 10:30). He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground (Matt 10:29) and nothing is trivial to Him. We are a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9). We are encircled by His loving-kindness (which is the meaning of the word 'belonging'). The Holy Spirit draws us ever onwards and into an increasing awareness of His grace.
The giving of a Saviour.
The first prophecy given in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:15) reveals on planet earth the beginning of an awesome story of a Saviour. This story actually began in eternity past (1 Peter 1:19-20) and reaches beyond all our earthly futures. Yet this story of a Saviour is also our story - because it speaks of a Saviour who came for us.
Man transgressed God's perfect law; despite having received nothing but love from the Lord God (1John 4:8). Man broke God's covenant. A breaker of covenant must be called to account; yet before God pronounced the penalty of sin upon Adam and Eve (Gen 3:16-17), He announced their redemption according to His eternally decided plan (Titus 1:2; 1 Pet 1:19-20). Love makes a way to reach out to a loved one, even when that loved one is a transgressor. Yet who is this Saviour promised before the foundations of the world were spoken into place?
He is the seed of a woman (Gen 3:15, Gal 4:4), born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:18, 24-25), the Son of God (2 Sam 7:12-16 Psalm 2:7). He is the seed of Abraham (Gen 12:2-3 Matt 1:1 Gal 3:16), from the Tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10 Micah 5:2 Luke 3:2). He is Immanuel, God with us (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23; Like 7:16).
God is awesomely holy, and far above our concept of perfection. He is all-knowing, all seeing-seeing, all hearing, all powerful, and yet His Son was willing to lay Himself open to the suffering which love for the transgressor brings. However, He did not suffer out of a deficiency of being, like created beings often do. God suffers because He continues to reach out in love without compromise to holiness; He reaches in love and holiness, the superabundance and overflowing of His being.
In reaching into our man-made prison amidst the remaining wonder and beauty of His creation, God reveals how far He is willing to come for us. Jesus came so that we, who can give Him nothing that He needs, may find life in Him. We are made in the image of God. We are made for a relationship with our heavenly Father. God wants to know us; God reaches out to all people.
Our neighbour (Matt 22:39) is made in the image of God (Gen 9:6), just as we are, and to treat a neighbour with disregard, or to look down on them, is to do something that God would never do, and therefore should never be done. This does not mean we do not call people to account, but it means that when we do so it is for the purpose of reconciliation and not condemnation. We are God's children, and to fail to love, support and care for others is to shrink away from our role in the great drama of redemption. We are to be, 'Oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His Splendour. (Isaiah 61:3)
"In the same way that Adam is the head of natural humanity, Christ is the head of the new humanity...to be in Christ is to belong to life; it is to stand under the sovereign lordship of life."
Prof Anders Nygren.
Because of Jesus, a hopeless and helpless child can find a Father to turn to, a strength that is willing to be theirs. But do we call upon Him? Because of Jesus, a man or women, crippled by pride and the trappings of worldly success, can bow the knee in humility and breathe the breath of life. But do we bow? Because of Jesus, the lost, lonely and marginalised of society can walk through the ups and downs of life with another.... but do we walk with Him?
"Like the Israelites, indicated by Jeremiah, we "forget God" (Jer 2:32; 13:25). For weeks at a time we go through the motions, never seriously attending to God, never focusing on God, never - with all the weight of mind and heart - turning ourselves over to God."
C. Plantinga, "Not the Way It's Supposed to Be."
No one was ever born like Jesus. His birth is unprecedented and unparalleled in history; the first and only baby born to a woman, but without a human father, for He is from eternity before time began. When our time-space universe came into being, the Son of God already existed in loving intimate fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, and God desired to share this love.
The One who walked in the Garden of Eden, and prophesied His own death, was to be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12; Matt 26:14-15), having been betrayed by a friend (Ps 55:12-14; Matt 26:47ff). His disciples were to forsake Him (Zech 13:7; Matt 11:13) and He was to be accused by false witnesses (Ps 55:11, 109:2)
The One who displayed such awesome love and power is the One who hung upon a cross at Calvary, yet was always the master of every situation, and never mastered.
In the beating Christ willingly endured (Micah 5:1; Matt 26:67; Is 50:6 ; Luke 22:64; Isa 52:14; Matt 27:29f; Isa 53:6; Matt 27:26) we see the effect of sin upon perfect love. Yet love will always eventually triumph over evil. In the last 24 hours of Christ's life before the resurrection, twenty-nine prophecies were fulfilled, showing that God is the master. According to the law of compound probabilities, the chance that they all happened together by accident is 1 in 537,000,000.
God is always in charge, and even through pain and suffering, whilst enduring the weakness of the flesh and our failings heaped upon His life, Jesus could reach out to the thief on the cross beside him (Luke 23:42f). This man was written off by society and was being punished for his transgressions. Jesus knows all about you, and all about your needs, you are very important to Him. He does not simply give us words, He has given us His Spirit (John 14-16; Acts 1-2; 1 Cor 3:16), yet do we know Him intimately, the One who gives the gift of Himself?
That which we seek to build in our own strength without recourse to God, effectively destroys the very self we think we are preserving. That which we seek to build in our own strength places barriers between the only being who loves us with a perfect, all encompassing love. By striving for independence, we shun the gift of love from God that can truly make us complete.
"When Christianity says that God loves man it means that God loves man; not that he has some indifferent concern for our welfare (He is) not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way, nor the cold philanthropy of a conscientious magistrate, nor the care of a host who feels responsible for the comfort of his guests, but the Consuming Fire himself, the Love that made the world."
C.S. Lewis
Prophesies beyond Genesis.
Many centuries after Genesis was written, amidst the turbulent history of the Ancient Near East, God spoke to Israel, as He had done on so many occasions. At that time Israel had strayed from God's protective care and walked the way of rebellion. They were challenged to turn back to God (Isaiah 1). However, we see that even amidst challenge and judgement, the prophetic word still went forth in grace and mercy, speaking of one who would stand in man's stead.
For to us a child is born (manhood), to us a son is given (deity), and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" Isaiah 9:6
It had always been in God's heart to send Christ Jesus, His only Son, to suffer and die for us on Calvary. Through Christ's sacrifice we are forgiven and brought back to our Creator and Heavenly Father.
"I see His blood upon the rose, and in the stars the glory of His eyes; His body gleams amid eternal snows, His tears fall from the skies.I see His face in every flower; the thunder and the singing of the birds are but His voice - and carven by His power, Rocks are His written words. All pathways by His feet are worn, His strong heart stirs an ever-beating sea, His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn, His cross is every tree."
Joseph Plinkett.
Jesus Christ is the author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48), and the Bright Morning Star (Rev 22:16).
Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:20), the desire of all nations (Hag 2:7), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the healer of the sick (Matt 4:23). He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; the Light of the World (John 8:12); the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6); the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Cor1:24). It is He who was spoken of so many centuries ago in the Garden of Eden and throughout history. It is He who is ahead of us in an eternity prepared for those who come through His saving work alone.
Jesus came for us (His church)
In Genesis, the book of the beginnings, we have words that speak about you and I, since Jesus came for each one of us (his church). In His walk through history, through death, resurrection and beyond, we see Jesus coming for us. He is always and ever relentlessly moving onwards. He is always reaching out and lifting men and women out of the mud and mire of this world. In grace and loving-kindness He alone enables us to find life in the presence of His Father, as we live indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This Shepherd, this king, is here now by His Spirit. Have we acknowledged Him this day?
Jesus was conceived, as are all men, and so He is fully man. However, unlike any other, his conception was by the Holy Spirit (Matt1:21), for He is the Incarnate Son of God. In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Col 2:9). Yet the totality of His divine power and attributes, as well as his awesome majesty, was willingly withheld within himself for a season. None could have seen Him in His awesome glory and lived (1 Tim 6:16).
Christ veiled His glory and entered the human race as the most awesomely powerful person who ever walked these dusty roads - and yet as the one who showed the greatest grace, mercy and compassion. He came as man; He came to stand in our place. He came to suffer and die; and yet death could not hold Him.
"Behold the great Creator makes Himself a house of clay: A robe of virgin flesh he takes, which he will wear for ay."
A. Farrer , "The Glass of Vision."
Yes, Jesus was born as others, and so he is fully man. Yet unlike any man he was born of a virgin (Matt 1:23), this pointed to His Deity, for He is God with us.
He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being (Heb 1:3). Here radiance does not speak of a reflection, but an outshining of brilliant light, a shining forth into the world of the very character and attributes of God. Despite His power, His might, His glory, He is a true friend and companion to the widow and the orphan (Ex 22:22), to the down trodden (for example, Hagar) and to those marginalised by society.
Jesus was born a Jew, lived a Jewish life under Jewish laws in a Jewish land. Yet, we find that Jesus never offered sacrifices for sin, and challenged those around Him to prove Him guilty of sin (John 8:46). He never sought forgiveness for Himself, for He is perfect, yet He gave His life as a ransom for all men (1 Tim 2:6). Only a perfect sacrifice could pay the penalty for the sin of mankind.
"Fifteen million minutes of life on this earth, in the midst of a wicked and corrupt generation - every thought, every deed, every purpose, every work privately and publicly, from the time He opened His baby eyes until He expired on the cross, were all approved of God. Never once did our Lord have to confess any sin, for He had no sin."
W.R. Smith, 'Have You Considered Him.'
Jesus was born of his mother, and wrapped in cloths as a man. Yet the heavenly host appeared in space and time, praising God for His birth (Luke 2:13-14), for He is God with us. Later, whilst a toddler, a star shone over Him and wise men bowed before Him (Matt 2:1-2), for He is the King of Kings who stooped low to serve others. The lowest of the low and the most esteemed in society are all in need of a Saviour and friend.
"And the word was made flesh (John 1:14). In all other religions, it is the word became word, a philosophy or moralism. Once, and only once, the Word became flesh, the ideal became real. Everything Jesus taught He
embodied. You cannot tell where His words ended and His deeds began, for His words were deeds and
His deeds were words and together with what He was, the Word became flesh."
Dr S. Jones, 'The Unshakeable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person'.
As a man Jesus was baptised in the Jordan; yet the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove (Luke 3:22), for He is The Son of God. Jesus travelled the dusty roads of this earth, and was thirsty, hungry and weary as any man might be. Yet He refreshed the weary, fed the hungry, and gave the water of life to the thirsty, He being God's one and only Son. There is no one better for us to hand our lives over to each day.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28-29
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36
There is someone who really understands us far better than we understand ourselves. He is the one who sees the sparrow fall, and who is never indifferent to our grief, suffering and sorrow, even when it is we who have caused it. There is nothing in this Universe that God regards as trivial.
"When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him; but in heaven's name, to what?"
G.K.Chesterton.
The authority of Jesus?
Jesus taught as one who had authority and not as the scribes of the day (Matt 7:28-29). The disciples were amazed (Matt 19:25) and the people 'were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority' (Luke 4:32).
On one occasion Jesus slept in a boat whilst crossing Galilee, as any man might. Yet He rebuked the winds and stilled the storm as the Incarnate Son of God (Matt 8:26). Can He not also still the storms in our lives, by correcting our thinking, refocusing our eyes, breaking old attitudes and allowing the healing power of His Spirit to build us anew?
"This is my father's world, and to my listening ears. All nature sings and round me rings, the music of the spheres.
This is my Fathers world; I rest me in the thought, of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world; the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world; he shines in all that's fair; in the rustling grass I hear Him pass, he speaks to me everywhere."
Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901.
Jesus had nowhere to lay His head whilst here on earth (Luke 9:58), yet he is so rich and awesomely powerful that nothing in the heavens or on the earth could contain the fullness of His glory (1 Tim 6:16). Despite this, He allowed Himself to be whipped and torn and crucified as a man, so great is His love for us. At His death the veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom, darkness covered the earth (Matt 27:45) and dead men came back to life (Matt 27:52-53), for He is the sacrifice of God - God Incarnate.
Like no-one else in history Jesus did not have to die. He would not have had to die from old age, sickness or weakness, like any other human being; neither was His life taken from Him. Jesus knew no sin. He gave His life, and He took it up again: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father" (John 10:18).
Jesus died and was buried as man, yet overcame death and was raised to life, He being God's Son. Death had no control over Him.
Jesus did nothing by Himself, He did only what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19), as should be the case with any man. Yet, unlike any man, Jesus told His disciples there would come a time when He would send the Spirit from His Father to them (John 15:26), for He is God Incarnate.
"For every prophecy of Jesus' first coming, there are seven of His second. He is not just the Christ of ancient history, or of present experience - He is the Coming King, coming in clouds of power and great glory He is the Rightful Owner of all creation, at whose advent all people will be called into reckoning, small and great, rich and poor, religious or not. He is not the Christ of a long-gone past; He is the present Saviour, and the world's future Judge, a future that is fast moving into present reality."
Dr W. Pratney, 'Nature and Character of God.'
Jesus' great 'I Am' claims involved His Deity. He clearly revealed Himself to Israel as 'I Am' (Ex 3:14). "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35,41); "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12); "before Abraham was I AM" (John 8:58); "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). "I am the gate" (John 10:9) - the only way into the 'fold of salvation.' "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
And so from this great Saviour to you and I. Are we reaching out to the hand extended to us, feeding on the life given to us, walking by the power of His Spirit within us?
The man or woman who puts self first, withdrawing within himself on a permanent safari of self help; abandoning his family, or simply shuffling through life without helping others is still a pauper despite being blessed by a king. If we constantly look to ourselves we defuse the God-given power within us. We hollow out our lives, removing the goodness and becoming like an empty shell, a clanging gong. We flit around on the breeze of current thinking, having no weight and substance to our living, up and down on the yo-yo of emotions. We are still out in the cold of a desolate night when the light beckons to come home, where we can find comfort and security.
Genesis is about beginnings. Every day is a new beginning, yet also a continuation of the walk that God enables us to have with Him through the One who was prophesied when God first confronted fallen man in the Garden of Eden.
Now review your answer to the question at the beginning of this session. What have you learned about prophecy and the way God has worked throughout history to reveal His love and purpose to mankind?